Hello, Goodbye
by WritelkeUmeanit
Summary: Sequel to, 'The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth'. Romance/Drama/Humor. Part Two in Series. SEQUEL POSTED!
1. Lorelai's Choice

**Author's Note-**

'**Ello, everyone! I'd like to introduce my new story, it being the sequel to, **_The Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth._ **This is basically a filler before I get to their middle and all that good stuff. It won't be too long, a handful of chapters-maybe a little more, maybe a little less. I'm gonna tie up some loose ends with this story and create new knots. Well, one knot. One BIG, IMPORTANT knot. Yeah, the title pretty much says it all, :D. **

**So any who, hope you all enjoy and please feel free to review on your way out! **

**And here we go, part two, take one!**

**Hello; Goodbye:**

**Chapter One: Lorelai's Choice.**

_Yale_

"I got an email from dad," Rory said while avoiding her mother's gaze.

Lorelai sighed. "And only two weeks after the fact. Very speedy," she said sarcastically.

"I'm sure he was just nervous," Rory reasoned.

"You know, you don't need to hide that from me."

"Well, I wasn't sure if you wanted to hear about it, or even hear Dad's name," she said with a wince.

"I don't, but he's your Dad. I don't wanna be left out of anything," she warned while pointing her fork at her daughter.

"Okay, message received, you can put your weapon down."

Lorelai grinned while lowering her fork to her food.

A moment of silence passed, the two girls eating while Rory debated sharing her next tid- bit of information. She decided quickly though that she should, and looked up at her mother.

"He wanted to give me his side of the story," she said carefully.

"Well, unless his side of the story includes having his long-lost evil twin lock him in the closet and come to the wedding in his place, his side of the story doesn't exist," Lorelai said dismissively before taking a bite of food.

"He said it was all a misunderstanding," Rory said, her voice slightly defensive.

Lorelai looked up. "What?" she asked, confused.

"He said the only reason he came was to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa's vow renewal."

"And 'cause Adolf told him to."

"He says he likes Luke."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he's proven that."

"He just wants you to be happy," Rory added.

"So he tries to get me dumped… makes sense."

"And basically that the whole thing was just a misunderstanding," Rory finished.

Lorelai put her fork down and said, "You know, the more he defends himself, the more he _needs_ to defend himself."

Rory frowned sympathetically while twirling her fork through her rice. "Hey, do you think Grandpa knew about it?"

"About Christopher coming?"

"Do you think he planned it with Grandma?"

Lorelai frowned. "Look how panicked you are. No, honey, honestly, the whole thing reeks of Emily. I mean, not that I think he would have discouraged it, but I'm pretty sure she's the one who poisoned the apple and gave it to Dopey to bring to the party."

"Yeah," Rory agreed, thought she was a bit unsure.

"You know, mom is going to push him on me until the day she dies- no, scratch that, she's beyond letting death stop her. If anyone could find a way around that whole 'dead' thing, it'd be Emily Gilmore, and years after her expiration date, she'll still be wreaking havoc in my life. Either that or she'll outlive me and let me tell you, that would just _suck."_

Rory giggled. "Yes it would," the younger Gilmore agreed.

Lorelai sighed while looking back at her food. "Even after we're married, she'll still try and cause trouble. Hell, she'd probably push the whole cheating thing if I was doing it with Christopher. She'll probably be standing there with pomp-pomps and a big 'DO HER GOOD!' sign. But she wouldn't actual _hold_ the sign; she'd just hire someone to do it for her. Damn rich people," Lorelai grumped.

Rory winced. "Ew. Must you? I'm trying to eat."

"Sorry," Lorelai apologized with a grin.

"So, speaking of weddings, when's Luke gonna propose?"

"Oh, he already did," Lorelai said with a shrug.

Rory's eyed widened. "He did?! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Well, he attempted," she corrected with a grin. "And he was a big tease about the whole thing," Lorelai said with a frown. "He came over the other night, right, and we're watching _Peter Pan,"_

"Because you've always wanted to go to _Neverland_."

"Exactly. So we're watching the movie and right when Peter's about to take Wendy and the Gang flying off into the unknown, he turns the T.V off!" she exclaimed.

Rory gasped. "No!"

"Yes!"

"Did you beat him with a spatula?"

"Well, I couldn't, after he took the ring out," Lorelai said with a helpless shrug. "I can't spank a man holding jewerly."

Rory's widened. "He gave you the ring!?" she questioned. "But it isn't on your finger," she said with a frown.

"Yeah, yeah, lemme finish. I'm in story telling mode here."

Rory grinned. "Go on," she urged.

"Okay so you know, I'm like, 'What the hell man?!' and he's all, 'Keep your pants on!', in that deep, sexy, growl thing he's got goin' on,"

"Okay, you coulda left that part out," Rory said with a crinkled nose.

"And right when I'm about to say, 'You so like them better off!', he pulls out a box!"

"No!"

"A Black box!"

"Oh my God!"

"And he's all, "I'm no good at the proposing thing, so here', and he hands me the box. So I'm all like, 'Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!' I was totally hyperventilating. But you know, in my head. I kept my cool on the outside."

"But the vow renewal, you knew it was coming," Rory said through her giggles.

"Yes, but Luke was sneaky about the whole thing. He waited days to give it to me, and I kinda forgot about it, you know? I mean I _knew_ it would come eventually, but you know Luke. The man doesn't give away anything," she said with a shrug."

"That's true," Rory agreed before taking a bite of her food. "So go on, finish the story," Rory urged.

"Oh, right. Okay so I open the box and I said something stupid like, 'This is a ring', and he's like, 'No shit Sherlock', and I'm all like Ooh-ing and Ahh-ing over it. It's so pretty, you have to see it. Simple, classic, beautiful- very me."

"Sounds it," Rory said with a nod.

"Yeah. So I take it out and I give it to him and tell him to put it on my finger. And he's like, 'Why?' and I'm like, 'You're the guy, you're supposed to put the ring on,' and he did the whole sighing, complaining thing and I'm standing there, smiling like an idiot and so he puts it on me, but it's a little too big. Not even a whole size, just a little bit. I try and tell him it's fine, but he gets all mad and he takes it back and he's like, 'I'll do it again. I'll even get down on my damn knee if you want.' And so you know, I'm all for that, but little did I know that it would involve waiting," she finished through a sigh.

"You hate the waiting thing," Rory said with a frown.

"Yeah, no crown of patience on this head," she said while pointing her fork to her hair.

"Well, it's been a few days, right? He probably has it now, but he's just waiting for the perfect moment," Rory said.

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Oh, and apparently it's his mom's ring. Isn't that cool? He's giving me his mom's ring. He's always said that I remind him of her. Just a _tad_ weird, but _so_ sweet," Lorelai gushed. "Especially with what I've heard about her."

"Not weird," Rory denied. "You know, that's like a proven fact. Men fall for women who are like their mothers. Makes sense. You grow up with that person, you live with person and so it seems logical that when looking for someone, you'll look for a person who's kinda familiar," she reasoned.

"Yeah," Lorelai agreed. "But his time was cut short, way too short. I feel bad, you know? I mean I hardly get along with my parents, and they're both still here. And I mean Luke- well he doesn't really talk about them and I know it still hurts him. Especially his dad, they were close. And my parents are here and I barely have contact with them. And you know, me and my mom, we'll be warring until one of us kicks the bucket. Of that I'm sure."

"Probably," Rory agreed. "I wish you could get along. But I know it's hard. All that history and everything."

Lorelai frowned. "I'm sorry, babe, things are just the way they are," she said helplessly.

The Gilmore nodded in understanding.

"And mom pulling this stunt doesn't help," she added through a sigh.

"No," Rory agreed, "It doesn't."

_Next Day_

_Diner_

"You're what?!" Luke exclaimed.

Lorelai sighed. "I'm going to Yale to see Christopher," she said while pulling a pair of gloves on.

Luke stared at her for a moment in disbelief. "And can I ask why?"

"Because I have to bang the final nail in the coffin, Luke."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that I started something, so I have to finish it."

"Will you stop talking weird and tell me what you're doing?" Luke demanded, losing patience.

Lorelai smiled while taking his hand and all but dragging him behind the counter.

"Lorelai," Luke warned as he followed her.

"Hold on, hold on," she said before pushing the curtain back. Once they were both behind it, she turned to look at him.

"I have to finish saying goodbye," she said.

"What?" he questioned, confused.

"Chris, I have to say goodbye to him."

"Goodbye?" Luke questioned. "Where are you going?"

Lorelai sighed, frustrated. "Nowhere."

"Then why are you saying goodbye?"

"Because clearly, I can't see him anymore," she said while pulling her other glove on. "That crap he pulled at the wedding…" she trailed with a shake of her head. "I can't keep forgiving him, Luke. Enough is enough."

"Guy's a jerk," he mumbled.

Lorelai smiled. "He can be, yes," she agreed.

"But goodbye, like goodbye, goodbye?" he questioned.

Lorelai nodded. "Exactly like goodbye, goodbye."

"But what about Rory?" he asked, not wanting this to effect her daughter.

Lorelai shrugged. "I've been doing the single parent thing for twenty years now, I think I've got a pretty good handle on it," she said with a grin.

Luke rolled his eyes. "So that's it, you're just not gonna see him anymore? Talk to him?"

Lorelai's brows quirked. "Why are you giving me a hard time? I thought you'd be all for this."

"I am, but," he stopped, sighing while bracing his hands on his hips as he turned to pace.

After a few steps he stopped and looked at Lorelai.

"I don't want you doing this because of me."

"I'm not; I'm doing it because of us. _For _us," she corrected.

Luke shook his head. "He's your friend. You care about him," he said as a matter- of- factly.

"No, not enough to lose you," she denied.

"You won't lose me," Luke said, his voice quiet.

Lorelai closed her eyes as a smile took her lips. She opened them a second later and took Luke's wrists in her hands.

"I have to do this," she whispered before pecking a kiss to his lips. "I can't keep playing games with him. I need closure, babe."

Luke nodded his understanding. "Mike's coming by later with a new shipment of pie. I'll tell him to bring extra blueberry."

Lorelai smiled. That was his way of telling her he'd be around in case she needed a shoulder to cry on, a place to crash, a hand to hold or someone to talk to. "Thank you," she said before leaning to drop kisses along his lips and stubbly cheek. "I'll be back later."

"Be careful," Luke cautioned.

"I'd tell you not to worry about me, but I'd just be wasting my breath, right?" she asked with a grin.

Luke smiled. "Right."

_To be continued…_

Please **REVIEW!** Thank you!


	2. Goodbye to You

**Author's Note-**

**Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!! I love all the reviews, seriously, they mean a lot to me, they keep me writing, :D. I normally send out individual thanks, but something's up with the reply link, at least on my account, and I wasn't able to send them, but again, thank you! LoL. **

**And on with the story!**

**Hello, Goodbye**

**Chapter Two: Goodbye to You**

_Yale_

"Are you sure you want me to go? 'Cause I can stay," Rory reminded Lorelai.

The Gilmore shook her head. "No reason to drag the kids into this."

"Kids? You have offspring I don't know about?"

Lorelai turned to grin at her daughter. "And Rory, I want you to know that you did nothing wrong. This isn't your fault. Mommy just can't stand to be around daddy anymore because she's about ready to start pulling her hair out, strand by strand."

"Therapy bills in the making," Rory muttered with a roll of the eyes.

"No, no, I do not want you blaming yourself," she continued her bit. "Daddy still loves you; he just has some issues right now."

"No, I think mommy has issues," Rory said with an overly sweet smile. "How Luke puts up with you, I'll never know."

"Oh, at the end of every day, I fully reward the man for his tolerance, so there's no need to feel bad for Luke."

Rory frowned, her lips pouting. "Must you always go there?"

"Go where?" Lorelai asked innocently.

"Dirty!"

"Oh, now, Rory, sexual intercourse is a natural part of life. It's something everyone does and it's nothing to be ashamed of. Hell, even monkeys do it," she finished with a shrug.

"And every other living animal," Rory said, obviously.

"Yeah, especially rabbits. They really go at it, huh? Oh, hey, that's where the rabbit thing comes from! They have sex so much! I get it!" Lorelai realized with wide eyes.

"And that's my cue," Rory said before turning away.

"Love you, honey!" Lorelai called with a grin

Once her daughter had left, Lorelai looked down at her cell to discover that it was five after one. Christopher should have been there by now.

Lorelai sighed while pushing back from the wall. She peaked around the corner and found that the cafeteria was pretty empty, which made sense. It was a Saturday afternoon; hardly anyone had class, maybe some kids ventured home for the weekend.

Regardless though, Lorelai figured she'd claim a table and wait for Christopher there.

But then the plan got cut short.

"Lor!" a man called from down the hall.

Lorelai turned, curving her lips to a smile as she reached to tuck a loose curl behind her ear.

"Hey. Where's the fire?" she joked.

"I'm late," he called running the few steps to reach her. "Sorry, had to drop GiGi off with her grandmother."

Lorelai nodded in understanding. "So, um, shall we?"

Chris nodded. "Lead the way."

_Stars Hollow_

He heard she had a meeting at the high school today. He also heard that she wore the same size. Patty was sure to make that clear after yelling at the man for his failed proposal. The dance teacher found out about the whole thing from Babette who had been peering through the window that night, giving her new binoculars and sound amp a whirl. The woman saw the whole thing, and then immediately started the phone tree, Patty at the top of her list.

At first, Luke barked at everyone who criticized him, but then he realized that the idea wasn't all that bad. It was the only way to make sure he got it right this time.

So, days after having his mother's ring resized, Luke headed across the street when he spotted her leaving the school.

"Lulu!" he called.

The woman stopped, having a bright smile on her face as she turned to the voice. "Hey, Luke."

"Hey," he said while catching up to her.

"Wow, you run fast," she awed.

Luke shrugged. "Used to play track."

"Right, saw the plague," she said with a grin. "Nice shorts."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Can you do me a favor?""

"Sure," she said with a shrug.

Luke nodded while reaching to pull the ring from his pocket. And of course, the black box attracted immediate attention.

"Is that the ring?!" Babette exclaimed while yanking her hand from Morey's and taking off running. "Patty! He's got the ring!" she yelled from down the block.

The dance teacher's eyes lit up as she turned away from her class and hurried down the stairs as fast as she could go.

"Lemme see it!" Babette shouted.

Luke sighed while rolling his eyes. "All I did was make it smaller, it's still the same ring you saw last week."

"Does it fit?" she asked anxiously while looking to Lulu.

"I don't know. Luke, may I please see it?" she asked sweetly.

"Oh, you should practice the whole thing!" the older woman exclaimed. "You messed up big time, doll face. You don't just give a woman a ring; you get down on one knee and give her a gushy speech first! It'll make her heart melt and she'll want you so bad, she'll kiss you like you've never been kissed before!" The woman boosted dramatically. "And then, you know, the two a yas will get naked and do it, but it'll be some kiss, let me tell ya!"

"Oh, pretty!" Lulu awed after slipping the ring onto her finger.

"Does it fit?" Patty asked immediately while joining the group.

"Perfectly," Lulu said with a nod while admiring the diamond. It wasn't some huge rock, but very beautiful, at least in her opinion. And of course, Lorelai's as well.

Patty nodded. "You know, Luke, I should be thanking you," she said before taking a drag of her cigarette."

"Thanking me?" Luke questioned with furrowed brows. "For what?"

"Well, dear, since I heard about your little mishap with Lorelai, I thought it would be best to educate the bachelors of Stars Hollow so it doesn't happen again."

"Yeah, I got Morey all signed up," Babette said with an eager smile.

"Educate them to do what?"

"Propose," Patty answered.

"Ah, jeez," Luke groaned. "But, wait, you and Morey are married."

Babette waved him off. "Never too late for a guy to practice gettin' down on his knees, if ya know what I'm saying."

"And I'm leaving," Luke said while opening the box to put the ring away. "Thanks, Lulu."

"No problem," she said with a smile. "Lorelai's a lucky girl to be getting such a nice ring."

"Maybe Kirk will give you one," the man said with a shrug while turning to tuck the box in the safety of his pocket.

Lulu sighed while looking at empty finger with longing eyes. "Maybe," she agreed doubtfully.

And after giving one more 'thank you' to Lulu, Luke turned to head back to the diner with Patty's voice yelling for him to join her class.

"You're all loons," he muttered under his breath.

_Yale_

"So, I gotta tell you, Lor, I wasn't expecting this," he said, still in disbelief as they pulled out their chairs to sit.

The Gilmore shrugged while trying to keep her smile.

"And I thought Rory would be pissed as hell, but she wants to hang out later," he said with a shrug.

What he didn't know was that Rory was pissed- that Lorelai was sure of, but Chris was still her dad. She always managed to find a way to forgive him.

"Wow? Really?" Chris awed.

Lorelai blinked away from her thoughts. "What?"

"You're usually going sixty by now. Verbal's your thing, remember?" he teased.

Lorelai smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I, uh… I wanted to do this after we ate," she started awkwardly while avoiding his eyes.

Chris frowned. "Do what?"

Lorelai sighed, trying to collect her thoughts. This wasn't easy for her. No matter Chris's track record, she wasn't looking forward to this.

Finally, she looked up at him and said, "I feel like I've known you forever, Chris," she said softly.

The man nodded in agreement. "Over twenty years, Lor."

"Twenty years," she awed in a whisper. "Wow." And then, just like that, she remembered as her voice flashed through her mind.

"_You can always call me, Chris… we got bonds, baby, just try and break em'."_

"I have to break them."

"What?"

Lorelai shook her head, not realizing she had said that aloud. "I'm sorry," she apologized.

"Sorry for what?" the man asked, his confusion growing.

"Maybe Rory was right. Maybe, when she told you to stay away from me, she was right, because I can't do this anymore, Chris. I almost lost him, and I know that was your intention, but what you don't understand is that I'm with Luke," she said firmly. "I am one hundred percent with Luke and I can't keep doing this back and forth thing, Chris. I just- I need to break free of you," she finished with a sigh, remembering what Rory had said months ago.

It took a second for Chris to figure it out, but when he did, he let his accusations be known. "What, he doesn't want you to see me anymore?" the man questioned, his eyes angry. "Is that what this is? Since when do you let someone tell you what to do?" he demanded.

Lorelai frowned. "Luke didn't tell me to do anything. This was all me. And I don't let _anyone_ tell me what to do," she said angrily.

"Look, I know I screwed up, okay? I got drunk and I said some stupid things, but I'm sorry. You're not just gonna throw everything away because I made a stupid mistake, Lor. I mean, hell, we made plans together _decades_ ago, do you remember that?"

"Chris,"

"We were gonna travel through Europe. I was gonna sleep on a bench and you were gonna get a hotel room. We were gonna see the world. And we would have gone," he said confidently. "You hated your parents house, you hated Hartford. You would have gone with me. We would be together right now, Lor, if everything didn't get so," And then he stopped, having caught himself.

"If everything didn't get so what, Chris?" she challenged.

"You know that's not what I meant," he said firmly.

"'Oh, don't worry, Lor, I'll pull out, we don't' need a condom'," she mocked him. "You ruined your own damn plan, Christopher," she said while reaching for her purse.

Chris's eyes widened. "No, Lor, don't go, I'm sorry," he said in a rush.

"You're always sorry."

"You know I love Rory."

She looked down while crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah," she said, her voice small. "Maybe. You don't always show it very well."

"I do," he insisted while getting to his feet.

Lorelai sighed. "I didn't want it to end this way, Chris. I didn't want to leave here mad at you. I just wanted to say goodbye," she finished, her voice desperate.

Chris shook his head. "No, stay," he said while grabbing her arm. "Yell at me, I don't care, just don't go," he begged.

Lorelai took in a breath while avoiding his eyes. "I have to," she said. "Before I change my mind, I have to."

"You don't have to do this, Lor. I know you don't want to. I know you're doing this for him, but I'm sorry. We can be friends. I swear-that's it, just friends."

Lorelai shook her head. "You're always sorry, Chris," she murmured, repeating her earlier words.

"Lorelai,"

But she stopped him. "I'm marrying Luke. We're gonna move in together, have a kid, buy a dog, put up the white picket fence and be a family. I love you, Chris, but I can't risk losing that. I can't risk losing him. You and I, we just… there's nothing there, not anymore, not on my end, and I will always love you for giving me Rory, but that's it," she said gently. "If you want to see your daughter, you know you can. She's not a little kid anymore; you don't have to go through me first. But you and I are done, " she said, her tone soft, yet firm.

Chris sighed after realizing that he wasn't gonna win here.

"I'm sure you could find Rory and have lunch with her. She's probably in her room. I have to get home," Lorelai said before tucking her purse over her shoulder. "No more calls, no more visits, no more baby emergencies- just, please, no more," she begged, unable to do the on and off thing anymore.

Chris nodded while ducking his head.

Lorelai blew out a breath of relief. "I guess I'll see you in two years. At graduation," she verified.

Chris frowned. Two years was a long time. But then he realized that they've gone longer without contact. Especially years back. He was "trying to find himself," while she was home with Rory. And then he thought, maybe, maybe if he was around, it wouldn't have been too late. But he didn't dare voice his thoughts.

"Bye, Chris," she whispered before turning to leave.

"Bye, Lor."

She heard him, barely, but she didn't look back. She couldn't.

_Later_

_Diner_

_Pearl Habor_ was playing on screen with Lorelai and Luke as its audience. The man laying on his bed, propped up against the headboard with Lorelai between his legs, her body curled to his chest.

"Sad," she murmured while watching as news traveled back to Evelyn that Rafe had died. Although at the time, little did she know that it was a mistake. The man would come back, but not before Evelyn fell for another.

Luke nodded in agreement while tightening his hold around her.

When Lorelai had come hours ago, he didn't ask if she was okay, because she wasn't. He could see it in her eyes. Things hadn't gone well. So he invited her to go up, telling her to make herself comfortable until he was done with the diner. And she did, hurrying upstairs, kicking her heels off, grabbing her favorite flannel from his closet and throwing it on before digging a pair of her sweats from his draw and getting comfortable on his bed.

Just a few hours later, Luke was able to escape and he couldn't help but smile at her sleeping body.

Of course though, even sleeping, the Gilmore could smell fresh coffee and woke up with searching eyes.

Luke grinned as she reached her arm out while keeping her head on the pillow. And he gladly gave her the coffee as well as the pie he brought for her. And then crawled into bed, curling his body around hers, holding her while she ate and watched her movie.

He was a little disappointed though because he had wanted to give Lorelai the ring tonight, propose to her again. He was finally able to get a hold of Lulu earlier, but with what happened today, he didn't want the two to be connected. So he would wait. And he was okay with that. As long as, at the end of the day, he was the one holding her, he was perfectly okay with waiting.

Luke kissed the top of her head before asking, "More pie?"

Lorelai looked up, a smile on her face. "Yes, please."

"Coming up," Luke said before carefully swinging his legs away from her and lowering her body to the mattress.

Lorelai sighed while cuddling up to his pillow. "Thank you."

Luke nodded, leaning down to kiss her cheek before heading downstairs, his mom's ring hidden away in his draw.

He could wait. He would always wait for her.

_To be continued_

Please **Review!**


	3. She ain't Waitin' on a Ring

**Author's Note-**

**I got another one for you all. It's short n sweet, but it gets a point across. Well, a few actually. Gets the job done, is what I should say, :D**

**Anyway, here it is, chapter three and just a few more to go before I wrap this baby up and move onto to the sequel which will most likely be called, **_Every Day_. **The next part in the series will be a long running story, so prepare yourselves for some serious Java fluff and of course, watching Luke trying to tackle the role of fatherhood should be fun, huh? I think so. **

**Okay, I've went on enough. Hope you all enjoy this chapter! **

**Oh, and thank you all for your encouraging reviews! Response are in your inboxes!**

**Hello, Goodbye**

**Chapter Three: She ain't Waitin' on a Ring**

_Diner_

"You!" Kirk exclaimed while barreling through the diner. "You stole my thunder! You robbed me of my moment, and for that I wanna kill you!" he yelled with an accusatory finger pointing at the man in charge.

Luke's brows furrowed as Lorelai turned in her stool to watch the show.

"What the hell are you talking about Kirk? I don't have time for your freak outs today," he said before quickly smiling at a paying customer.

"Lulu proposed to me!"

Lorelai nearly choked on her food as the room turned quiet in an instant. "Oh my God," she managed to mutter after forcing down the bite.

"The men in this town," Patty said with a sad shake of her head.

"She proposed to me last night and you know what I did?!"

Luke sighed. "Something stupid, I'm sure."

"I bought this!" he exclaimed while pulling out a ring with a giant diamond sitting in the middle.

Lorelai's eyes widened as just about everyone else's did as well. "Whoa," she awed.

"There's no way this is as big as the one you're giving her!" he gloated with confidence while thrusting the ring high into the air.

"No, but I'm sure he's got a bigger something else than you."

"Lorelai," Luke warned.

"Hey, Kirk, what's your shoe size?" the Gilmore asked sweetly.

The man's brows furrowed. "Why?" he asked.

Lorelai shrugged. "Just curious."

His eyes went back and forth, trying to see if some joke was being played on him.

"Six," he said a moment later, his voice small and Lorelai couldn't help but laugh, though she recovered quickly. "And a half," he added meekly.

"That's a, uh, nice rock you got there, Kirk," she said through a smile that just wouldn't go away.

The man straightened up again. "Thank you," he said with a nod. "So take that, Luke Danes! Mine's bigger!" he exclaimed victoriously before turning to run down the street.

Lorelai burst out laughing.

_Later_

_Dragonfly_

"So I'm happy to report that one week later, and not a word from your dad," Lorelai said with a smile while walking through the lobby, smiling at a few customers as she went.

"Good!" Rory said cheerfully while typing away on the keyboard. She had a deadline. "Wait, that is good, right?"

"I didn't say 'I'm sad to report'."

Rory nodded. "I can't believe he went so quietly."

"Hey, hey, don't jinx it," Lorelai said with a wince. "It's only been seven days, that's no record or anything."

"I know, but its dad. You and him go back. And I mean honestly, I didn't even think you would go through with it," Rory said with a frown.

Lorelai sighed. "I'm not hung up on him, Rory."

"I know," the girl said quickly. "But he just- whenever he came back, it was always the same thing… I just don't want you to get hurt again."

Lorelai smiled, her lips curving just a bit. "I promise you, come March, I will be at that church, ready to walk down the aisle, and I'll even go buck naked if I have to,"

"One store, you tried _one_ store."

"And I will bind myself to Luke Danes for the rest of my life, body and soul, come sickness or health, and, uh, whatever else they throw in there," Lorelai said while shooing Michel away from the computer, the man busy updating his facebook account.

"I still can't believe you're getting married in March," Rory awed. "You do realize that's in three months?"

Lorelai gasped. "But the nice old man told me March was in the fall," she said with wide eyed innocence.

"Oh my God, you flirted with Reverend Skinner, didn't you?!" Rory accused with wide eyes.

Lorelai scoffed. "I would never flirt with a man of the Lord."

"Then how'd you get March 27th? A wedding planned in three months, that's crazy. You must be setting some kind of record here. Oh, hey, I should call Guinness! You'll be in the book!" Rory exclaimed.

"How 'bout you pray for me instead because setting the date and actually planning a wedding in twelve weeks- two completely different things," Lorelai said through a sigh. "It'll be a Christmas Miracle."

"You should get married on Christmas. Maybe Santa will help you," Rory said with a grin.

"So when are you coming by?"

"I'm almost done here. Hour tops," she promised.

"Good," Lorelai said with a nod. "Three hot chicks hittin' the town, looking for wedding dresses… we're sooo bad."

"But shouldn't' you wait till he actually gives you the ring? I think that saleswomen thought you were insane, like she thought you had an imaginary fiancé or something. She kept looking at you weird," Rory said with a frown.

"I still say she was checking me out."

Rory sighed. "She was not checking you out."

"She kept talking about my boobs!"

"She wanted to know if yours were holding the dresses up," Rory said with a roll of the eyes.

"And then she got all touchy feely," Lorelai said with a crinkled nose.

"She was pinning the dress so it wouldn't fall off."

"_Or, _was she ripping apart the seams so it _would_ fall off!" Lorelai countered.

"You need help."

"So I've heard."

_Hartford_

"So what are the odds that Luke gives me the ring in this calendar year?"

Sookie shrugged. "I say pretty high."

"And I say he's waiting for his moment," Rory added.

"And I say screw the moment, I want my damn ring."

Sookie giggled. "Come on, let's head in here," she said as they approached a bridal store.

"The man waits forever to plant one on me and now I swear, he's going for the gold. I'll never see my ring again," the Gilmore said sadly while looking down at her empty finger.

"And your sanity, that's long gone. Now come on, lots of pretty dresses waiting," Rory urged while pushing her mother into the store.

"Anyone starts talking about my boobs, and we're outta there."

_Dooses_

"My fiancé and I _love_ wheat bread. Mother always says it's good for the heart."

"Mine too!" Lulu exclaimed.

"And tampons, these are for my fiancé," Kirk said while sliding the box onto the belt.

"Jeez," Luke muttered while ducking into an aisle. The man couldn't help but realize that this was last year all over again, when Lulu and Kirk first started dating and the man would announce their pairing everywhere they went, for weeks. He would ride this fiancé thing out for as long as he could.

"Oh, Advil, my fiancé gets headaches, don't you snochkums?"

Lulu nodded. "You bet, cuddle bear."

"I'm getting a headache," Luke mumbled while reaching for a milk carton, then swinging around the aisle. And of course, Kirk had to see him.

"Oh, hey, Luke," the man said with a smile. "My fiancé says hi, too."

"Your _fiancé_ can speak for herself."

"My fiancé also loves her ring. Her big, new, shiny ring," he said, ignoring Luke's comment. "Speaking of rings, have you given Lorelai hers?" he asked, though he knew the answer.

"Kirk," Luke growled.

"She ain't gettin' any younger," he said tauntingly.

"And you won't get any older if you don't shut up," Luke warned while hopping on another line, that one empty.

"Kirk, leave him alone," Lulu said with a smile while squeezing the man's hand. "Come on, honey buns, let's go."

"Honey buns?" Luke questioned with raised brows.

"Coming, sweet cakes," Kirk said while accepting his change from the cashier and hurrying after his girl.

Once the man had left, Luke sighed while looking back at Taylor as he pulled his wallet from his back pocket.

"You know, Luke, Kirk has a point," Taylor said carefully while starting the belt.

"What?"

"The town wants to know why you're waiting so long to give Lorelai the ring. After all, you're not really engaged until you put a ring on her finger."

"The town can mind its own damn business."

Taylor shrugged while running the items through the scanner. "We were gonna discuss it tonight, at the town meeting. So if there's anything you'd like to say in your defense, I'd say it now," the man advised.

"And once again I'll tell you to mind your own business," Luke sneered. "All of ya, butt out!" he exclaimed after turning to the store.

Taylor frowned. "God only knows why she wants to marry such a hot head," he muttered under his breath.

"And God only knows why you're moving so slow. I got a diner to run," he reminded the man.

Taylor held up his hands in surrender before quickly moving to finish the order.

Luke sighed.

_Hartford_

"What do we think?" Lorelai asked with a wince after hopping up on the pedestal.

Rory and Sookie circled Lorelai, the two meeting in the middle and nearly bumping into each other.

"That it's time to put this on the back burner and look for wedding invites instead. Invites are fun," Rory said with an advertising smile while nodding her head.

Lorelai sighed. "I won't find one in time. There's just no way. I mean I'd have to find one that fits me perfectly, no alterations needed," she complained while gathering the material in her hand and hopping down. "Why the hell did I set the date for March? It's too soon."

"Because you're dying to be Mrs. Backwards baseball cap," Sookie said with a grin.

"And you love Luke so much that you don't wanna wait," Rory added.

"It was either March, or wait till the summer. And the only reason I got the 27th was because someone cancelled, so I swiped up the day before anyone else could."

"Well, who wants a summer wedding, anyway, right? It's all hot and sticky out and every plain old boring couple gets married in the summer. You and Luke are far from plain and boring," Sookie said.

"Plus, there's the chance of snow with a winter wedding. Wouldn't be it so cool if it snowed on your wedding day?" Rory asked excitedly.

Lorelai nodded as a smile grew to her lips. "It would."

"See? March, not so bad."

"Yeah," Lorelai said doubtfully while frowning at her reflection.

"Now let's blow this joint and go invitation hunting. We'll resume the dress search later," Rory assured her mother while shooing her to the dressing room.

"Okay, okay, I'm going."

_Stars Hollow_

_Diner_

Luke hopped up the stairs quickly, his boots banging with every step. When he reached the apartment, he set his groceries down on the counter and then turned for his dresser. He then sat down on the edge of his bed, and carefully pulled out a little black box. He opened the lid and couldn't but sigh at the ring, his mother's ring.

Things were a little backwards right now. Luke knew Lorelai was going through with plans for the wedding and he couldn't be happier. He was thrilled to hear that she managed to get a date that was just three months away. He was ecstatic to find that she had gone dress shopping. He was relieved that she was jumping into this and moving forward with the idea.

But of course, there was a key factor missing. He hadn't giving her the ring yet. And while she hadn't asked about it, Luke knew she wanted to. He also knew that maybe he was being a tad bit silly. But he couldn't help it. When he realized what was coming up, he decided to wait. He hated that she was walking around without the ring on her finger, but he knew he couldn't' pass this up.

So for now, it would stay with him. Luke nodded at the thought while closing the box and carefully slipping it back into his draw.

Just two days from now, and the ring would be where it belonged.

_To be continued…_

Please **Review!**


	4. Second Time's the Charm

**Author's Note-**

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!! To everyone who has been reviewing!! I'm pressed for time, so I can't answer everyone's (damn school finals) but I want to get this out. So enjoy! And please review!!

**Hello, Goodbye:**

**Chapter Four: Second Time's the Charm**

Luke hated malls. He absolutely hated them with every fiber of his being. He hated the traffic it took to get there. He hated the parking; it was hell to even find a spot. He hated how big the damn store was, it could take forever to get from one place to another. He hated the suffocating crowds. He hated that employees weren't paid fairly. He hated more than half the crap that was even sold. Luke hated malls. He really, really hated malls.

"Thanks for coming with me," Lorelai said with a smile while squeezing his hand.

Luke sighed under his breath. "Didn't give me much of a choice," he grumbled.

And though Luke hated malls, he loved the woman standing next to him. So here he was, walking side by side with Lorelai, the two on their way to _Victoria's Secret, _Lorelai wanting to take advantage of some big sales.

"You didn't have to come."

"You asked, I couldn't say no."

"Pout?"

"And the hair flip. And that damn dress," he added while glaring at her black wrap dress, the material a low V cut down her chest and ending to sit above her knees. "And the shoes, why the hell are you wearing those shoes?" he growled.

Lorelai grinned and said, "Because you're a peep toe kinda guy. I needed to whip out all the ammunition, baby!" she said with a snap of her fingers.

Luke sighed. "It's crazy to be here on Christmas Eve."

"No, it's genius! I would die for these sales!" she boasted. "Now come on, cranky boy, you'll have fun watching me try on pretty lingerie."

"No way, I'm not going in there," Luke refused while trying to get his hand back, but Lorelai pulled tighter.

"I'll hide you in the dressing room, sissy boy, like last time."

Luke peaked around her shoulder, trying to get a look inside and saw that there were women and bras everywhere. "Lorelai," he complained in that 'ah jeez' tone.

"Since when do you pass up the chance to see me naked?" she asked with a frown.

"Since it involved having an audience," he said while waving his hand at the store.

"Aw, you wouldn't do playboy with me?"

"Those dressing rooms aren't floor to ceiling. People will see my boots, know I'm a guy and they'll think we're doing something in there," he hissed.

"Paranoid much?"

"They'll think I'm a perv or something!" he whispered.

Lorelai laughed at his panic. "You didn't care about that last time and not once did you complain while I was riding your-"

"Lorelai," he warned.

The Gilmore giggled.

"It was a Monday night; there was hardly anyone in there."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Fine, Chicken Little, you go try and hunt down a tool you don't have, which is probably impossible- you've bought up like all of Home Depot by now- and I'll go find something pretty for tonight."

Luke narrowed his eyes at her and said, "That was too easy."

Lorelai shrugged. "It's Christmas Eve, thought I'd give you a break."

Luke nodded while looking down at his watch. "You had breakfast two hours ago. I assume you'll want something to eat soon," he said through a sigh, knowing that it was in his and everyone else's best interest within a one mile radius that they stick to her feeding schedule.

The Gilmore nodded enthusiastically. "Pretzel cart, half hour, be there," she warned before pecking his scruffy cheek, then turning to the store.

Luke watched until her body disappeared behind the sea of lingerie, then he turned down the hall.

She gave up the fight, something that Lorelai Gilmore just didn't do. She threw in the towel without whipping out a pout, doing a little hair flip, or promising to do naughty, naughty things to him. If it was another day, she would have gotten around to that, but today she didn't.

Somewhere in their conversation it dawned on her that this would be the first Christmas that they spend together as a couple. Today was special. So she decided to shoo him away, wanting to pick out a few things alone that she could surprise him with later.

The man was on his way to Sears, figuring he could pass the time in the tool department while Lorelai did her thing. But something in a window caught his eye. And it grabbed enough of his attention that he couldn't help but walk into the store.

_Victoria's Secret_

"Hello."

"Do you think I'd cross any mother daughter lines if I sent you pictures of me trying on lingerie and asked which ones you think would make Luke wanna jump me and go at it?"

"At least twelve," Rory said with a nod.

"Damn."

"Are you forgetting that you have a best friend who isn't your daughter?"

"Sookie won't answer her phone," Lorelai sulked while looking in the mirror, trying to decide if she wanted the blue teddy that she wore.

"Oh, now, mom, you've been buying your own underwear for years now, I think you can handle this."

"He likes blue on me, but I don't wanna buy too much of it so the novelty wears off," she said sadly while picking at the material.

"Well, what about green? You've mentioned that he likes green."

"Well, yeah, his truck is green and every guy and their big ole man truck have a special thing goin' on."

Rory sighed while switching the phone to her other ear. "Isn't Luke there? I thought you dragged him with you."

"He's making out with the shiny tools."

"Ew."

"It's our first Christmas together, I wanna surprise him," she explained.

"Well, then, buy something new, get a color you don't have, but buy something you know he'll like too, that way you have a guaranteed winner."

"Oh, good idea!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Finally, this Yale thing is kicking in."

"I love your heartfelt thanks, mom, it means a lot to me."

"Oh, and she's got the sarcasm down too, I'm so proud," Lorelai gushed with her hand over heart.

"And I'm hanging up now. Don't forget to pick up some sanity before you leave."

"Will do."

_Later_

Luke sat up in bed, his legs lying over the covers as he held the little black box in his hands. In just a few minutes, he would give her back her engagement ring. The band may be a bit different, having been sized to fit her, but the diamond was the same. It received some polishing to give it a new shine, but essentially, it was the same ring his father gave his mother all those years ago.

Just for a second, Luke thought back to Rachel. The whole town thought he would propose to her. They all thought he would marry her, get her to settle down. And yeah, he thought about it. He did love her, but he knew that she wouldn't ever stay put. He knew he wouldn't give her his mom's ring.

With Lorelai, it was different. He knew. He knew it when they first met, when she came in like a tornado, babbling a million miles a second; he knew she was something special.

"Hey," Lorelai whispered.

Luke's head snapped up as he came back from his thoughts and scrambled with the box, trying to hide it underneath the blanket, but it was too late.

"Whatchya got there?" she asked with the biggest grin while leaning against the door.

The man shook himself back to the present and his eyes widened. They awed at the sight of her bare legs that were dusted with a light tan. They awed at the silky red material that just barely covered her sex. They awed at the teddy that flared over her curves, the neckline a V cut with black lace lining the trim. They awed at seeing the thin spaghetti straps that curved over her shoulders. They awed at the smile that he fell for, her eyes that drew him in, and her dark hair that she left in loose ringlets. Those curls drove him crazy, and she knew it.

"Wow," he managed to utter, being unable to keep his eyes from tracing her body again.

"You like the red?" she asked, her smile growing.

Luke nodded, his eyes wide like he was a little boy at a candy store.

"So you gonna give it another go?" she asked while jerking her chin at the box in his hands.

Luke nodded. "Come here," he said, his tone dangerous.

Lorelai pushed off the door frame and walked across the room to crawl in bed next to him. She put her head down on his chest and wrapped her arm around his belly while he dropped a kiss to the top of her head.

"Lemme see it," she whispered.

Luke sighed while propping open the box to reveal the ring. "This wasn't how it was supposed to go," he said gruffly. "Patty's gonna kill me."

Lorelai smiled. "Just tell me you love me. Tell me you'll run out tomorrow and find us matching jogging suits," she finished with a grin while tipping her chin up at him.

Luke smiled, he couldn't help it. The curve of her lips was contagious. "I love you," he said simply. "And no pink," he warned.

Lorelai giggled while pressing her face to his shirt. She pressed a kiss to his belly before rolling her head to look back at the ring.

Luke's hand traveled up her back to tangle in her hair. "Can I put it on you now?" he asked with an amused smile.

"Thought you'd never ask," she said while holding up her hand.

With the biggest grin, Luke carefully plucked the ring from its box, and then took her hand in his. He slid the ring down her finger, turned the diamond so it faced the right way, then kissed her knuckles before laying her hand over his stomach, trapping it there with this.

Lorelai sighed in contentment with happy eyes glued to her new ring. "You really know how to make a girl wait, but wow," she awed, "so worth it."

"Yeah?" Even without the one knee thing and a speech?"

Lorelai nodded. "This was more us," she said. "I must be the only girl who gets proposed to twice, by the same man, after saying yes the first time, and before getting married even once."

Luke couldn't help but laugh. "I can do it again if you want. Maybe you'll break a record or something."

"Nu uh, you're never getting it back now," she said while hiding her hand underneath her chin.

"Good," Luke said before kissing her forehead. "I don't want it back."

_Next Morning_

_Crapshack_

"Finally!"

"I know!"

"It's so pretty," Rory awed while inspecting her mom's ring.

"It is, isn't it?" Lorelai gloated proudly. "Oh, and look," she said while pushing her hair behind her ears to reveal silver snow flake earrings, little diamonds covering the flakes.

"Oh, I'm so borrowing those," Rory said with wide eyes.

Lorelai smiled. "He said he saw them at the mall yesterday and they reminded him of me. And what's crazy is apparently there's more. Oh, and he got you presents too, missy. He's coming by later and we'll do the whole watching movies, eating cookies, opening presents, sitting by the fire, cozy thing."

Rory frowned. "He didn't have to get me anything."

Lorelai shrugged. "He always does, babe. I don't think that'll every change," she said with a smile. She always liked that Luke and her daughter had a relationship separate from her.

"You picked a good one."

"One in a million," Lorelai agreed.

To be continued…

Please **REVIEW!** :D


	5. The Night Before

**Author's Note- **

_I'm sorry this took forever, but we're getting closer and closer to the big day here, so yay! LoL. Well, I'm excited, hope you all are too, :D. _

_Anyway, here it is. Hope you all enjoy! Oh, and thank you for all your reviews!!!!!_

**Hello, Goodbye: The Night Before…**

**Chapter Five: **

After that infamous Christmas night when Luke Danes made his engagement to Lorelai Gilmore official, the following months passed by in a flurry of activity and chaos. Everyone was rushing around, trying to get the plans together for the upcoming wedding and of course, the moment Emily Gilmore got involved, the speed cranked up at least five notches.

Once the older Gilmore found out about her daughter's engagement, she insisted on being let in on the plans. She swore up and down that this time she would stay out of it; she wouldn't try and interfere with the relationship. And maybe Lorelai was being naïve, but she saw something in her mother's eyes. She saw a mom wanting to be a part of her daughter's wedding, wanting to do what a mother was supposed to do. And so they struck a deal. Emily would have to be nice, respectful, and decent to Luke, and in exchange, Emily wanted… well, Lorelai, not in her wildest dreams did she ever expect to hear those words come out of her mother's mouth.

"_I'm sorry, I think I just hallucinate; you want what?"_

"_You heard me," Emily said primly with her chin high. _

"_No, I don't think I did," Lorelai insisted. _

_Emily rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Lorelai, it isn't as if I asked for ten. One would suffice," she said with a shrug. _

"_But what if we want ten," Lorelai challenged. _

"_Well, then you better get started now. You aren't in your twenties anymore, Lorelai."_

"_Just means you're gettin' older too," Lorelai taunted while pointing her fork at her mother. _

"_Try not to have a boy, okay? There's too many boys runnin' around," Rory threw in. _

"_I'll try," Lorelai said with a nod. _

"_So you're going to have children?" Emily asked, wanting to clarify. _

"_Either that or a couple of plants. Would you prefer us to have plants, mother? They're a lot quieter and you don't have to buy them anything at Christmas," she tried to entice. _

"_I can see Luke with children," Emily said thoughtfully. "It's always the men that seem like they wouldn't be able to handle children that turn out to be excellent fathers," she warned. "Let's just pray the child doesn't have your big head," she teased with a smirk. _

_Lorelai rolled her eyes. _

And so with all the Gilmore girls on board, things really picked up.

At first, Lorelai was a bit hesitant to have her mother so involved with everything, but she quickly realized that it was for the better. Trying to plan a wedding in three months was hard enough, but with help, the right kind of help, everything was moving like clockwork.

See, Emily knew the right people and the right places to call. And she had pull. More specifically, her money had pull. Though despite Emily's insisting, Lorelai won the battle and kept everything small. The wedding was already set to be held at the church in Stars Hollow, and the reception would be in the square. Catering, of course, was Sookie's territory, but there were tons of other little things, all of which Emily promised to take care of and ended up getting done rather quickly.

The wedding was being paid for by Luke and Lorelai, despite the traditional. Normally, of course, the bride's parents take care of the bill, but the bride and groom were proud, stubborn adults. They wouldn't let anyone help with that. But there was one thing. One very big thing that Lorelai did let her mother pay for.

"_Lorelai?" Emily questioned. _

"_Mom? Is the dress attacking you? Does it have you tied to a chair? Should I call the fashion police?" _

_Lorelai shook her head, her eyes pressed to the mirror in front of her as she looked at herself in awe. _

"_I-"_

_Both Emily and Rory pressed their ears up to the door, trying to hear what Lorelai was saying. _

"_Mom?" Rory questioned after a minute of silence passed. "It's been like ten minutes, get out here."_

"_It's perfect," she murmured through a sob as tears welled in her eyes. _

"_It's what?" Rory questioned with furrowed brows as she leaned closer to the door, Emily doing the same next to her. _

_Lorelai tore her eyes away from the mirror then quickly turned to swing open the door and exclaimed, "Look!"_

"_I'm here! I'm here! I'm here!" Sookie shouted while hurrying through the store. "Sorry I'm late, Jackson was- whoa."_

"_Wow," Rory awed. _

"_Oh my," Emily said while pressing her hand to her mouth. _

"_I never thought I- I just- It's so- I can't," Lorelai sputtered before stopping to take a deep breath. _

_She closed her eyes for a minute, pushing the tears away, then opened them a moment later to look at the three women in front of her and she couldn't help but laugh at Sookie. _

"_Aw, Sook, not you too."_

"_Beautiful," the chef said with tears in her eyes. "Luke's gonna love it."_

"_I second that!" Rory said with a big smile. _

_Lorelai's lips curled to the biggest grin as she turned to Emily. "Mom, what do you think?"_

"_I think you look stunning," she said while admiring the simple, white A-line strapless dress, the waist empire style. _

"_Really?" Lorelai questioned while looking down to smooth her hands over the material. _

_Emily nodded while working to keep the tears from falling. She never thought she'd get to see her daughter in a wedding dress, having never dreamed that Lorelai would let her be a part of it all. _

"_So it's a keeper?" Lorelai asked ._

_Rory nodded. "Definitely," she said with a big smile. _

"_A keeper," Sookie confirmed. _

_Lorelai took a breath before turning back to the mirror. She braced her hands on her hips and twisted her body back and forth, trying to get a look at all angles. _

"_Never thought I'd find the perfect dress. No alterations, needed. It's my size and its fits perfectly," she said with a growing smile. _

"_I insist on paying for it," Emily said abruptly. _

"_No, mom, I told you, Luke and I are paying for the wedding."_

"_Yes, I know, that's why I want to pay for your dress, and I'm not arguing with you about this. I'm your mother and it's my right to at least pay for your wedding dress. Please, just let me have this, Lorelai, " she begged. _

_The Danes to be sighed, her eyes glued to the dress on her body. She didn't want help paying for anything, but she could see that this meant something to her mother. It wasn't about something overly expensive or trying to have the best; the dress she had on was simple, beautiful and on sale. They weren't in some big bridal store, but a little shop in Hartford. Her mother wanted to do this because she was her mother. _

"_Okay," Lorelai gave in a moment later. "You can pay for it."_

"_Thank you," Emily said primly. _

"_No, thank you, mom."_

And so finally, after months of preparation and planning, the big day was less than twelve hours away.

"Are you scared?" Lorelai whispered as she cuddled into Luke's chest.

"To be stuck with you forever? Hell yeah," he teased with a grin.

Lorelai tilted her chin to glare at him. "Mean," she said with a pout.

Luke smiled before leaning to kiss her lips. "Not scared," he said.

Her face fell. "Really?"

"Are you?" Luke asked with raised brows.

"No," Lorelai said quickly, a little too quickly.

Luke smiled. "You can be scared, Lorelai," he said gently while playing with the ends of her hair.

"I want to marry you," she said with confidence. "I'm just-"

"I know," Luke said with a nod while pulling her naked body closer.

Lorelai sighed while turning back to lay her head on his chest. She stretched her arm over his torso and held him tight.

"What time is it?" she asked after a moment of silence.

Luke looked up at the clock. "After eleven."

Lorelai nodded. "We should get some sleep."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Big day tomorrow."

"The biggest."

Luke reached up to twist the knob on the lamp, making the room go dark. He then settled on his side with his arm around Lorelai to pull her up against his body.

"Night, sweetheart," Luke said the rare sentiment before kissing her temple and getting comfortable behind her.

Lorelai smiled at the words. "Night, babe," she said while gripping her hand around his wrist, holding his arm to her stomach.

XXX

It was after three in the morning when Lorelai's eyes peeped open. She turned, doing the best she could without disturbing Luke and found that it was 3:07. And then she sighed, wondering why she was up at this ungodly hour. She didn't have to go to the bathroom, her throat wasn't dry, she didn't need water, Paul Anka didn't' need anything- he was sleeping at their feet like he most always did.

Lorelai carefully swung Luke's arm from her body then sat up. She smoothed her hair away from her face and looked around the room, confused.

"Hey, where you going?" she whispered after Paul Anka jumped down from the bed and left the room.

"Paul Anka," she called after the dog while quickly following after him.

The Gilmore chased her dog down the stairs, through the hall and finally, they came to a stop in front of Rory's room.

Lorelai looked down at her dog with furrowed brows. "You wanna go in there?" she asked while pointing at the door.

Paul Anka wagged his tail in excitement while hovering around the door, waiting for his mommy to open it.

"Weirdo," Lorelai murmured before opening the door and the second she did, Paul Anka ran inside and went straight to the bed, lifting his front paws on the mattress while looking down at the dress that was spread over the mattress.

"Hey, no, I don't want doggy slobber on my dress," Lorelai said while hurrying over to shoo the dog away from her gown.

Paul Anka quickly jumped down, taking a seat by Lorelai's feet while looking up at his owner with this tongue hanging outta his mouth.

Lorelai couldn't help but smile at the dog. "It's pretty, isn't it?"

Lorelai turned back to her dress, a happy smile on her face as she picked up her gown and held it out in front of her.

"What do you say? Want a little floor show?" she asked while looking down at the dog. "Yeah, one more time before I put it on for the real thing," she said before nudging the dog from her daughter's room so she could change.

Once she had the dress on, she stood in front of the vanity mirror and took in a deep breath.

"Paul Anka," she called and upon hearing his name, the dog ran back through the room and ran up on Rory's bed. He scooted to the edge and sat up high with his eyes on Lorelai.

"Think I can do this? Think I can be a good wife?"

Of course no words left Paul Anka's mouth, but Lorelai took the silence as confirmation.

Lorelai smiled at her baby before turning back to the mirror.

"Yeah, I can do this," she said confidently. "But Luke's crazy if he's expecting me to vacuum in heels and have a home cooked meal waiting for him every day. Or any day," she added.

Paul Anka barked.

Lorelai laughed.

_To be continued…_

**Please REVIEW!!!! Thank you!!!! **


	6. The Day Of

**Author's Note-**

**Sorry, sorry, sorry. This took longer than expected, but I won't go on and on about that, I'll just get to the main event. So here it is, the final chapter, but very very soon I'll be posting the next story in this series which will be titled **_'Everyday'_ **so look out for that. And here we go. Oh, and picture of Lorelai's wedding dress, for those who haven't seen yet, up on my facebook. Link on my profile. **

**Enjoy. **

**Hello,Goodbye.**

**Chapter six: The Day Of...**

"Maybe we should have done a trial run or something."

"What?"

"Well, I've never lived with a man. What if it sucks? Luke's gonna have to live with Babette."

Rory laughed. "Over his dead body will he ever live with Babette."

Lorelai sighed. "Do you think I can do this?"

"You mean do I think you can let Luke move in with you, cook for you all the time, make you coffee, and have him at your jumping disposal 24/7? Yeah, pretty sure you can," Rory said with a grin. "And you know, he's practically moved in already. When's the last night you two spent apart?"

"Well, we stayed at his place the other day because he had early deliveries, but apart, not for a while."

"Makes sense," Rory said with a shrug while adjusting her mom's tiara. "I think grandma was right, your head's too big for a vail," she teased.

"Hey, no being mean to the bride on her wedding day," Lorelai protested with a pout.

"Okay, before you go out there, we need to have a talk."

Lorelai frowned. "Is this the sex talk? Because seriously, I think it's a little late for that," she said while gesturing to Rory.

"No, but I need you to promise me that you won't let our hosue be turned into a man house."

"Man house?" Lorelai asked through her giggles.

"I don't wanna come home and find a giant plasma screen T.V in our living room with ESPN playing, sports magazines covering the coffee table, hiding the maxim and playboy, beer cans everywhere, his dirty docks hanging all over,"

"But what about my dirty socks? Those are okay, right?"

"No weight thingies or benches with those big bars in my room. You better not let him turn my room into a weight room!" she warned.

Lorelai put her hands up in surrender.

"And he likes to cook, he's gonna fill the fridge with real food, leaving no room for pizza or leftover takeout," she complained with a pout.

"I'll get him his own fridge," Lorelai waved off.

"Oh, but you're allowed to have a pet now. Thought I'd let you know," Rory said with a smile.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Thanks mom."

"Luke'll make sure it gets fed and everything."

"Kept you alive for 20 years, lets remember that."

"And lets remember the turtle who was supposed to outlive you."

"He was old when I got him!"

"Oh, and the hamster."

Lorelai gasped. "You promised to never bring up Damien again!"

"Oh, and Stella; you lost my baby chick."

"You lost a baby cat!"

"I didn't lose her, she was sleeping! You left Stella alone!"

"What about Goldy- very original name by the way- he died the day after you got him!"

"You forgot to buy food!" Rory shot back.

_Knock! Knock!_

The Gilmore's turned their heads to the door and found Emily peaking inside.

"Oh, hey, mom," Lorelai said with a smile.

Emily sighed while walking further into the room. "Fighting about a dead fish on your wedding day," she murmured through a sad shake of her head.

"And I'd do it again too."

"Yeah, grandma, we're gonna do it at my wedding too. Start a new tradition," she said with a grin, her mother's grin.

The older Gilmore rolled her eyes just as Patty came hurrying through the room shouting, "It's show time!"

"Already?" Lorelai asked, panicked, while jumping up and darting to the mirror to get one last look at herself. She wanted to make sure she looked as close to perfect as humanly possible.

"Yeah, your guests are seated and everyones waiting to see you walk down the aisle," Patty explained with a smile. "Rory, sweetie, you should get to Logan so the two of you can be ready; it's about to start."

"Okay," Rory said with a nod. "Break a leg, mom," she said before kissing Lorelai's cheek.

The bride nodded, though her face was unsure as a swarm of butterflies flew through her belly.

Rory turned back to her mom, worried, wanting to make sure she was okay, that she could do this, but then she figured that everyone was nervous on their wedding day. She loved Luke and this time it would stick. It had to. Never had she seen two people like her mom and Luke. They really did belong together. He got her, she got him- it all worked.

"Mom, you should go grab a seat," Lorelai said distractedly, her eyes glued to her reflection.

Emily nodded. "I just wanted to offer you best wishes," she said, being a firm believer in Mrs. Manners and following the rules of etiquette.

"Thanks, mom," Lorelai said without turning to the woman.

Emily reached for the door, planted her fingers around the handle, but before she could slide it open, she peaked her head over her shoulder and called, "Lorelai?"

"Yeah?"

A proud, sappy smile spread over Emily's face at the sight of her daughter in her wedding dress, just minutes away from becoming a married woman. "You look beautiful," she said. "Luke's a very lucky man."

Lorelai looked at her mom, a bit of shock lighting her face at the words. "Thank you, mom," she said sincerely.

Emily nodded, tears already boiling in her eyes, though she turned and went off to her seat before her daughter could see.

Meanwhile, while everyone was waiting impatiently for the music to start and the bride to make her grand entracne, Lorelai was fussing with her hair, trying to get it just right, trying to stall for time.

"Honey, you should really get out there," Patty urged with a frown.

"I know, I know, I am, I'm just nervous."

"Oh, of course you are. Everyone is before they get married," Patty waved off. "You should have seen Babette before she married Morey. You know the ceremony was at the church and right before she walked down the aisle, she ran in the bathroom and threw up. I held her hair," the dance teacher said proudly.

"Wow," Lorelai awed.

"Yeah, she was a wreck the whole day, even after they said 'I do'. She was worried that Morey would be too tall for her house and she'd have to move."

Lorelai laughed at the memory of Babette telling her how Morey used to always knock his head on the celings after they were first married.

"Good thing he managed to time those hunches right. Babette loves that house."

Lorelai nodded. She could understand where Babette was coming from. Although she wasn't worried about Luke being too tall, she was just hoping that he would fit into her home. She loved her house, too.

Lorelai looked over the mirror and peaked out the window. Luke was standing outside, fidgetting with his tie and that simple act of messing with his clothes made her feel a whole lot better. He was nervous too. She wasn't alone in that. Everything would be okay. It had to be. And having confidence in the thought, the Gilmore turned to Patty and said, "Let's go."

XXX

He knew the very second it happened. Jess jabbed him in the chest and when he looked up, everyone was on their feet, their heads turned behind them.

She came from Patty's, her father waiting on the staircase, ready to take his daughter's hand and lead her down the aisle, the very long aisle. It wasn't supposed to be as long as it was, but the plans got changed somewhere along the way. At the start of everything, the ceremony was supposed to be at the church, but then the couple that originally cancelled came begging for their date back and Lorelai relented, deciding instead that the square would be better and so, there they were.

She was beautiful, at least to Luke she was, though he knew everyone else probably thought the same too, especially today. The breath snapped from his lungs the moment he saw her in that long, white dress and he was in awe. He heard tale that it was strapless, but because it was a chilly day, she had a white cardigan on to cover her arms, so he couldn't tell. But for Luke, that didn't matter. To him, she would look amazing even in a bathrobe, especially the silky kind. She wore her hair down, the dark ringlets loose and falling to her chest. And even from where he stood at the gazebo, he could see her eyes shining back at him and her smile big and happy. She looked so happy.

Before he knew it, the walk that he pictured taking so long was over and she stood just a foot away from him, her father kissing her cheek. Then she turned to look at him and he had to fight the urge to kiss her. It was too soon for that.

"Ladies and gentlemen," The Reverend started, "it's my honor to welcome you all to witness the joining of our very own Luke Danes and Lorelai Gilmore..."

Luke didnt mean to tune the Reverend out, it just happened. His eyes, his thoughts, his focus and his attention were all on the girl standing in front of him. He looked down at their joint hands and the smile on his face spread even further at the sight of her diamond ring. The ring he put on her finger. His mother's ring. And today, in just minutes, another ring would be added. A ring that would mean forever. And he was definitely in it forever.

He heard his name and had no choice but to snap from his thoughts.

"Lucas William Danes, do you take Lorelai Victoria Gilmore to be your lawful wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

His parents then came to mind. His mother dying so young, leaving his father alone. But years later, his dad passed to and Luke liked to think they were in heaven, together.

"No," he said, and instantly Lorelai's face fell. Luke smiled. "Death or not, I'm in this for good."

"Aw, Luke," Lorelai sobbed. She tried to pull her hand back from his to wipe her eyes, but Luke held tighter, shaking his head with the smile on his face. If she wanted to cry, today he wouldnt try and stop the tears. He knew they would be happy tears.

The Reverend smiled. "So that's your way of saying 'I do'?"

Luke nodded and with that, Reverened Skinner turned to Lorelai. "And do you, Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, take Lucas William Danes to be your lawful wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"What he said," she answered with a grin.

The Reverend laughed. "I should have known the two of you wouldn't do this by the book."

"Yeah, we're rule breakers," Lorelai said with anod.

"Can I kiss her now?" Luke asked impatiently.

"Yeah, plant one on her sugah!" Babette shouted from the audience.

"Go ahead," The Reverened said with a smile. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Luke Danes!"

"Wow, I'm a Mrs. now," Lorelai awed through her giggles.

"You mind, I'm trying to, uh," he said while gesturing to her lips

"Oh, sorry, go ahead," she said with closing her mouth.

And finally, Luke got to kiss his bride. And of course, Babette and Patty were the head cheerleaders, leading on the clap parade and everyone eagerly joined in. Even Emily Gilmore.

XXX

The party lasted for hours, and even sour puss Taylor stayed out for the festivities. It seemed that all of Stars Hollow turned out for the big event. And the bride and groom didn't disappoint, putting on a show worth seeing. Sookie taking care of the food was a guaranteed winner. Kirk found 'The Yummy Bartenders', and those guys were a big hit with the female crowd. And of course, there were a handful of guys who enjoyed the view. 'Hep Alien' played, and they rocked, playing requests, mixing it up and were more than happy to go along with the surprise that Luke wanted to sneak in there.

See, at first, Lorelai, Rory, Sookie and later, Emily, were taking care of everything. All he had to do was show up. It was a task he was more than happy to do, but Luke wanted to have a say in something other than the color of Lorelai's dress. And he did. Well, a few things acutally, two surprises that were both saved for the end. Why not go out with a bang, he figured.

"I can't believe it! I finally have a sister!"Liz gushed.

"I know! We should totally have a slumber party and stay up all night watching Erik Estrada and Emilio Estevz!" she gushed like a 13 year old from way back when.

"Oh, wow, blast from the past," Liz said with an eager nod.

"Yeah, and after that we'll play truth or dare, and invite some boys over for a little closet fun."

"Seven minutes in heaven!" she realized

"Yes!"

"Jeez," Luke grumbled. "Shouldn't you be getting back to T.J?" he reminded his little sister, trying to shoo her away.

"Okay, okay, I'm going. I just wanted to congratulate you guys."

"Thanks, Liz," Lorelai said with a smile while leaning agianst Luke's side.

"Aw, look at you two!" she gushed.

"Liz," Luke warned.

She put up her hands in surrender and said, "Okay, okay, I'm going," before hurrying off.

Lorelai sighed, her hand on Luke's belly as she titled her chin up to look at him. "Are you happy?" she asked.

Luke nodded before kissing her forehead. "And I'll be even happier tonight," he promised with a gleam in his eye.

Lorelai smiled. "Me too."

And then it started. The song that brought Lorelai back to just last year. To when things were so different, but about to change for good. For the better.

"_Do you want to dance?"_

"_Uh, I thought you said before you don't dance."_

"_Well, I'm a compulsive liar."_

"_Um, sure, let's dance."_

"Do you want to dance?" Luke asked, breaking the memory.

Lorelai nodded. "Let's dance."

He led her to the floor and just as she wrapped her arms around his neck, it started to snow.

"Oh my God," Lorelai whispered as she titled her head up to to sky. But she frowned after finding that the flakes were falling from above.

"It's not real," Luke assured her with a smile. "I hoped it would snow for you and I wouldn't have to use the fake stuff, but I thought it's better than nothing," he said with a shrug.

"Wow," Lorelai awed, a big smile lighting her face as she leaned further into Luke, as far and as close as she could.

Luke wrapped his arms tighter around her back while looking down to peak at her face. "How'd I do?" he asked.

Lorelai closed her eyes while tucking her head under his chin. "Perfect," she said as they swayed. "You did perfect."

"You weren't half bad either," Luke said with a grin.

**THE END**

**I'd love some reviews. And stayed tuned for the sequel. :D**


End file.
